Date of Award

1996

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Psychology

Keywords

Psychology, Clinical.

Supervisor

Thomas, Cheryl,

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

Previous cross-cultural research in the area of eating disorders has, for the most part, neglected Native American women. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and expression of eating disordered attitudes and behaviours among Canadian Native women. It was expected that a higher percentage of Native women would be classified as potential bulimics than nonNative women. It was also expected that Native women, on average, would score higher on measures of eating disordered attitudes and behaviours (i.e., body dissatisfaction, bingeing and purging behaviour) than their nonNative counterparts. A secondary goal was to determine the correlation between the degree and type of acculturation and the severity of eating disordered symptoms among Native women. The sample consisted of 79 women ranging in age from 17 to 50 years (mean age was 23.6 years) recruited from urban areas in Manitoba and Ontario. Measures included the Bulimia Test-Revised (BULIT-R; Thelen et al., 1991), The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ; Cash & Prozinsky, 1990), the Figure Ratings Scale (Fallon & Rozin, 1985) and the Relational Attitudes Scale (RAS; Restoule, 1994). Results indicated that 25.9% of Aboriginal women, 8.1% of Caucasian women, and 28% of women not born in North America were classified as potentially bulimic. The women's scores on multiple measures of body image did not differ significantly between groups. For Aboriginal women a significant positive correlation was found between Marginalization and severity of reported bulimic symptoms. These findings are discussed in the context of previous comparative studies. Implications for the development of prevention and intervention programs targeting Aboriginal women are also addressed.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1996 .G44. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 37-01, page: 0365. Adviser: Cheryl Thomas. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1996.

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